If you have been watching our social media you will have noticed posts in regards to athletic field construction, this however is only the start of the project! We are in the process of developing a 3 hole golf facility, a world class athletic field and moving all three brands of reel grinders into a newly renovated shop.

The activity was facilitated some years ago by a substantial donation and combined with the funds received from the sale of Hawks Nest GC the aim is to have a world class education facility for student learning, life turf research and outreach. Currently the athletic field has been rough graded and work on installing irrigation is about to begin. We are delighted to have Craig Schreiner as the lead architect – Craig is an alum who has a long list of course renovations and designs on his resume, who is planning on spending time on campus with his finishing equipment and will give the students an incredible experience when he arrives.

The site for those familiar is north of the turkey barn facility and the 3 hole complex will incorporate a par 3,4 and 5 hole for experiential purposes. The aim is to have the full facility online approximately Spring of 2027 with student involvement occurring during the construction process and as part of their practical experience going forward. We are delighted to be able to bring this to campus and look forward to working with many people going forward to help with the project completion. We will aim to keep everyone up to date as much as we can going forward through the site.

Rough grading and construction of field in Wooster is complete

The annual fundraiser which is critical to so many of our students success is upcoming at Westfield CC in Westfield Center, OH – the annual event has been the main driver for scholarship for students int he program, many of them whom are first generation students and have serious need to deal with the cost of education. The event has allowed the program to directly support students with a total of over $65,000 been given out over the last 7 years – we want to get that number to $100,000 and need your help! Anything youc an do – tee sponsors, teams, dinner sponsors are all welcome and we would love to see you there on the day

Registration is here : https://advancement.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/events/ati-turfgrass-scholarship-golf-outing

If you have questions feel free to reach out to Nangle.1@osu or petrella.21@osu.edu

Thanks and go bucks!

Storms, heat and humidity are leaving their mark this year. Some commentary online has mentioned a repeat of 2012 so we will see how it goes. All students are now out on internships and some have already gone through a PGA tour event experience. We expect that everyone will get to sharpen their water management skills this summer based on what we have seen so far. Problems have started to mount with dollar spot activity, pythium on juvenile turf, red thread and leaf spot all rearing their head. The extreme high temperatures may have some respite over the weekend but forecast shows a return early next week (June 20th).

On the program front the loss of Dr Raudenbush was certainly a hit but Dr. Petrella has hit the ground running. Students very much appreciated his approach to teaching sensors and technology for moisture management while he has also done well on the research front with support and applications coming in from a state level and also projects aimed at federal funding.

As the summer progresses we will be announcing the date of the scholarship golf outing – most likely in October and a site is still TBD. A field day in Wooster is in the works this fall also which may tie into the scholarship day and we will be reaching out to look for related to projects. Dr Petrella also was able to complete the purchase of the Walz chlorophyll fluorescence camera and we would like to thank all of the state chapters for their support of this endeavor. Finally we will try to get out and about as much as possible this summer and if you want a visit feel free to reach out!

More to come from the OSU – ATI Turfrgass Management Program

After a hiatus due to COVID19 and changes on the staffing front we are still hanging in there. Currently the program is in the process of looking for a replacement for Dr. Raudenbush and we continue to see student numbers grow – although we can take more if needed! The summer has been a bit of a slow start so far with cooler temperatures and dry weather making for a relatively easy start so far. That should change soon however as we get into the heat of the summer. Further to that we are looking into possible sites for this years golf outing scholarship fundraiser and will have more updates soon! If there are any questions dont hesitate to reach out – nangle.1@osu.edu